Jaded
by hyperactivekonoichi
Summary: "...and what do you plan to do now my lord?" The demon butler glanced at the unconscious girl emotionlessly. "Drag her down into the bottomless pits of hell with me of course" Cielxoc Ciel/oc Cieloc
1. The beginning

"Leave!" The grungy workers who had been previously holding me down left the room hurriedly. The hefty man grabbed me by my hair and flung my lifeless form across the room. I braced myself for the pain. I as my back made contact with the dingy walls of the cold room. I wished I braced myself for what came next. Old wounds reopened as his nails dug into my sides mercilessly. I screamed in agony as the raw skin around my wounds burned as I felt my naked back make contact with the cold floor.

* * *

><p>"I thought I'd never see you again Elise!" Jane embraced me furiously. I think she let me go when she noticed the porcelain colour of my skin start to tint blue.<p>

I took a deep deprived breath of air before speaking. "So what did I miss around here?"

Jane ignored my question, instead doing a double take at my appearance.

"W-what did they do to you?" she was referring to the newly formed bruises that bastard had left on me. I silently thanked the rags they called clothing here that one of the female workers had dressed me in. They covered the_ other _markings he left on my body.

"Well... after John ordered the other workers to leave he threw me around for a little bit" I knew I shouldn't have lied, but it was partially the truth.

"I thought they would've just moved you to another sector. This is unacceptable!" her fists balled up uncharaistically.

I haven't known Jane for a long time. At most it has only been two months, but it's easy to lose track of time on this hell hole.

After my parents had been kidnapped and murdered, none of my relatives had wanted to take me in and with the help of the former head butler and servants, they were able to greedily claim my inheritance. Afterwards, they didn't know what to do with me and decided to send me to the local orphanage.

The orphanage I was sent to was a small and humble place.I spent most of my days there with the other children. Our day consisted of three meals and 4 hour lessons with a kind teacher who had retired locally several years ago.

I stayed there for about half a year...

until everything changed drastically.

"We'll take her" the man shook hands with one of the nuns before grabbing my hand forcibly. Right off the bat, I knew I wasn't going to like the man. The way he held my hand made me feel like I wasn't a human being- almost like an object. I remember looking back at the nun. I could tell by her expression that she regretted the adoption, but I knew one of the donors who funded this orphanage had recently passed away. I shot her a reassuring smile and decided that nothing he can put me through will be worse than losing my parents.

I was wrong... so wrong. But every cloud _does_ have a silver lining and in this case, Jane is my silver lining.

"Don't worry, we'll get out of here. The two of us. No one will ever touch you again" she put both her hands on my shoulders blades. She didn't seem to notice me wincing slightly from the pressure.

It was meant to be a reassuring gesture, but I couldn't help but think something terrible was going to happen.

* * *

><p>It was hot. The air in the room was almost suffocating. My breathing came out ragged. <em>Why was it so hot?<em> My eyes snapped open.

_What's going on?_ I could hear screaming from the outside of my cell.

I jumped out of bed as quickly as I could. I hesitantly turned the knob of the door. It was a foolish thing to attempt as the workers are ordered to never leave our doors unlocked at night.

_Yes! It's open!_ My eyes widened with realization.

I automatically ran to the corridor where Jane's cell was.

_Where was her cell?_ I silently cursed at myself underneath my breath wishing I had paid more attention.

_Please...please be okay!_

That was the last time I ever saw her. Or anyone from the factory in fact. The flames had engulfed the entire place. There was nothing left, the rubble was the only evidence that there was ever a building there.

_Nothing._

_A/N: So what did you guys think? thumbs up or thumbs down? Let me know in a review and if you have any suggestions for the plot, let me know! _


	2. The arrival

A young adolescent girl who resembled the former Elise Winterfield wandered the streets endlessly for days. Several passer-bys noted the two girl's similarity, but the Winterfields were known for their wealth and power in England, so most of them just dismissed it without a second glance. The girl that stood before them was way too dingy and scrawny looking to be Elise Winterfield, who was famed for her class and manners at such an early age. Besides, the Winterfields would never be seen in that part of town.

* * *

><p>I don't know how long I've been roaming the streets of English. I didn't know where I was either. I felt my stomach grumble noisily. I've only been eating and drinking enough to keep myself alive.<p>

What's the point? I had no purpose anymore. My parents are gone. My wealth has been robbed from me... and Jane was probably dead as well.

Nothing has gone my way since my parents died. When they died, I had only spent a small portion mourning in order to take on the family business. I tried to be strong and I tried to full fill my parents wish of me taking over the family business, but I failed. The betrayal from my family members robbed me of any chance to make my parents proud. When I was sent to the orphanage, I was plagued with guilt from feeling relief because I had escaped running family business. Then I was adopted by frauds and sold to a factory that enforced child labour.

"Here miss." The young girl had both her hands in a cuff outstretched to me. In the middle of both her palms were a couple of sweets.

"T-thank you" my voice came out in a croak.

"You're welcome! You looked gloomy, so I decided to share some of what mommy bought me. I have to go now!" The girl beamed at me one last time before running off.

"Wait! What's your name?" I managed to croak.

The girl suddenly halted her running and turned around. The expression she had on her face was one I was sure I'll always remember.

"It's Jane" She smiled.

And then she was lost in the sudden crowd of people.

I hadn't lost _everything. _Jane... her body wasn't found. She could still be alive! I have to find her and until I do... I can't die... just yet. I carelessly unwrapped the sweets the girl had given me and popped it into my mouth before throwing the Winterfield adorned wrapper onto the ground. My stomach grumbled appreciatively. _It'll have to do for now_

I won't die until I find her.

* * *

><p>I shivered inwardly from the cold. <em>Where am I? <em>

"Do you know where you are miss?"

_No..._

When I didn't answer, the male officer turned to one of the female officers beside him. "It's no use. She's still in shock. You said you found her here collapsed here?"

I could vaguely register hands placing a blanket around my shoulders. One of the officers must've taken pity on my shivering form.

"It's _him_…. who could've thought someone as young as him would be the Queen's guard dog?" The surprised voice of one of the officers seemed loud in the silence.

_W-wait… Queen's…guard dog?_ My eyes widened with realization.

They must've been talking about the late Vincent Phantomhive's son. His name escapes me, but I remember my father telling me that his son took over the Funtom Toy Company, and in the process becoming one of the most powerful people in the country.

_"You know Elise, you could learn a thing or two from this boy" My father, Louise Winterfield, looked up from his newpaper. He sat on the couch across from me in the living room while I was playing dress up with one of my dolls._

_"Who? The late Vincent Phantomhive's son?"_

_"Yes, he now runs the Funtom Company."_

_"Isn't he my age father?" _

_"Why, now that I think of it, yes he is- you know Elise, from what I hear, he's a very charming boy" My father teased. All I did was stick out my tongue at him, and then went back to focusing on my dolly. _

A boy around my age stepped past the yellow tape barrier surrounding the rubble of what use to be the factory. He was certainly dressed like a noble. He had short, blue-gray hair that framed his face, with a piercing blue eye peaking out from under his bangs. His most interesting feature was the eye patch that covered his right eye.

_This is the queen's guard dog? No way… he's even younger than I expected!_

"Come Sebastian. We have an investigation to conduct" his authoritative voice snapped me out of my trance-like state.

A young man who appeared to be his butler stepped past the yellow tape. His attire reminded me of what the head butler of my household use to wear.

_Investigation? Could it be they're investigating what happened during that night at the factory?_

"Oui! Tell me everything that happened during that night of the factory" He seemed to demand an answer from me.

_How rude! And he's my age too. Who does he think he is? _

"Isn't it obvious? It burned down. How stupid can you get?"

"What did you say? Do you know who I- " I could almost see a vein popping out of the young Earl's forehead, which seemed to grow larger as his butler interrupted him.

"What my master means is, if you could so kindly tell us if anything odd happened before the fire. It'd be of great assistance to our investigation" _How fake. _Even though his butler was smiling as he said this, I could tell there was an underlying "or else" in his tone of voice.

_Two can play that game._

"I don't know. I- I don't remember… " I said, hoping they would buy my little act. The poor confused girl act that is.

The young Early turned to one of the officers, clearly annoyed. "How utterly useless. Is there anyone else we can interrogate?" _W-why you little…_

"I'm afraid not. She's the only survivor."

"My lord, I might be out stepping out of my place as a butler, but might we keep her for interrogation temporarily at the manor?

"That's absurd. I'm not babysitting-"

"but my lord, didn't the queen say by any means necessary you are to solve this case as quickly as possible?"

"Fine" the young earl looked away, obviously displease at the turn of events.

"Wait, I am not coming with you two!" Everyone seemed to forget I was still there and that it was my decision.

"Do you have anywhere to go?" There was that damn butler again. Why did he have to talk so much?

The look on my face must've given me away.

"Then it's settled. You'll be staying at the Phantomhive manor until you regain your memories"

* * *

><p>"Sebastian, was there any reason why you practically invited the girl to stay at the manor?" I glanced at the girl on the other side of the carriage to make sure she was still asleep.<p>

All that damn demon did was smile. "Now, why would you say that my lord? All I wanted to do was assist you in the investigation"

"Why else would you go through the trouble of arranging for that insolent girl to stay with us?" I ignored that last bit of his sentence knowing full well it was a lie or at least not completely the truth.

"Very well my lord, but I must say, your suspicion greatly hurts me"

"You know that's not what I want to hear Sebastian. Are you saying you want to terminate our contract? I ordered you to never ever betray me" I lifted the eye patch that covered my right eye revealing the mark of our faustian contract.

"Not at all my lord, but I don't believe I breeched our contract. You know what you have to say" Sebastian slowly slipped the white glove that hid the mark that signified the other end of the contract.

"I order you" I could feel my right eye glowing

Sebastian only smirked before leaning into my ear.

"_Because I don't think our little robin is telling the truth"._

* * *

><p><em>AN: How is everyone doing? I'm very proud of my quick update! :D No writer's block~ yay! (then again, it is only the beginning...^^') and hopefully it'll stay that way. I think I have most of the story worked out in my head. Tell my what you think okay? I'm actually quite proud of this chapter (I changed my writing style a bit and cracked open a dictionary), but I find it said how I wrote Ciel's part better than my OC's part T^T tell me what you think! Criticism always welcomed. And reviews make me happy! ^_^ _

_Alice, thank you for the review! it made me really happy to know you like it! _

_Tokiluv, hope you like this chapter and thank you for reviewing! :D _

_Jade 23741, thank you so much for the kind review! I hope you like this chapter too :) _


	3. The manor

**Disclaimer (I can't believe I forgot this in the last two chapters D:) : I do not own Black Butler. I only own any OC's and ideas that wasn't in the Black Butler series or manga. Please don't sue me lawyers =(**

It was a beautiful day. The birds were chirping and the sun was shining, but most importantly, all was well in the Phantomhive manor. The three workers tried to busy themselves as much as possible while awaiting their master's return. He had gone out early in the morning, and hadn't told them when he'd come back. The maid stopped scrubbing the manor's windows when she noticed a carriage heading towards the front gate. When the carriage stopped, not two, but three people came out. She motioned for the other two workers to come over. The three smiled at each other mischievously before getting ready to greet the three.

* * *

><p>My mouth opened in shock as I peered out the window of the carriage. <em>That's the Phantomhive manor? It's huge, even compared to the Winterfield manor! <em>

"Are you going to stay in the carriage all day with that look on your face?" I had failed to notice the young Earl was already out of the carriage. All I did in retort was glare at him. _How rude!_

"Miss?" Sebastian held the door open for me as I got out.

I stretched my body as I let out a long awaited yawn. Even though I had spent a fair amount of time during the long ride asleep, my body still felt physically tired, and cramped from being in such a small space for so long.

By the time we made it inside to the manor, three people were already there to greet us.

"Welcome to the Phantomhive manor and estate!" the three greeted in sync.

"I'm Meyrin the maid of the household!" She was a red head wearing a maid uniform who sported frames that seemed too large for her face.

"I'm Bard, the master chief of the household".

"...not really"

"Sebastian, you're so mean!" The cigarette in the dirty blonde's agape mouth seemed like it was about to fall any second.

_So that's the butler's name. _

"and I'm Finnian! But just call me Finny. I'm usually out in the gardens" The blonde flashed me a wide smile. I shyly returned the smile. I could tell he and I would get along just fine, which is more than I can say about the Earl next to me.

"It's nice to meet you!" the three chirped together again. I sweat dropped inwardly. _Do they rehearse this?_

"It's very nice to meet you three as well. My name is Elisailana Winterfield, but Jane use to call me Elise for short!" I paused and silently cursed at myself for not being able to stop myself in time. _Jane…_

The mood in the room dropped considerably. The maid, Meyrin I believe was her name, spoke up. "Miss Elise, who is Jane?"

"She was just a very good friend of mine" My eyes wandered down to my shoes.

Silence.

After what seemed like several minutes, Sebastian broke the awkward silence.

"I'm glad you four get along so well because you'll be working together from now on" I was mildly startled at what Sebastian had said.

"W-what do you mean?" I looked at him with surprise on my face. _Oh no, he doesn't mean…_

"Why, you didn't expect to stay here for free, did you?" My eyes widened with realization.

"No, but- "

"Then that settles that, you're our new maid. You'll need some training, but that's nothing Meyrin and I can't handle, right Meyrin?"

"Y-yes s-sir!" the red head blushed as she saluted Sebastian.

"I've had enough of this madness. I'll be in my study Sebastian, and remember to bring my afternoon tea." It had been a while since the Earl had said anything. Actually, now that I think of it, he had also barely said a word during the carriage ride.

"Wait! I should know your name if I'm going to be one of your maids!" _Not that I've completely accepted the reality of that… but it's better than always referring to him as Earl or even worse… master!_

"You will refer to me as "master" He glared.

I could tell he was about to walk off, but I stopped him before he could.

"You act like I'm not a person too! Regardless of my status it's common courtesy to introduce yourself when you're meeting someone new! And another thing, I will never ever in this lifetime refer to you as master!" I was breathing heavily by the time I finished my little rant. _Jerk!_

"Ciel"

"W-what?"

"My name… it's Ciel" Ciel glared at me again, annoyed he had to repeat what he said.

He nodded to his butler as he made his way to the corridor on the left. I assume that's where his study was.

"You three, don't you have work to do?"

"Yes Sir Sebastian!" The three quickly scrambled off in all different directions.

"And as for you, we'll have to find a spare maid uniform for you won't we?"

* * *

><p>I gently closed the door to my study making sure it wasn't locked.<p>

_What was I thinking? How could I have agreed to let her stay at the manor? That insolent girl won't be able to aid my investigation. She'll just get in the way, even if this arrangement was only temporary. _

A private investigation was already being conducted by Arthur Randall before the factory burned down. The factory was the source of England's main export, tobacco. A complaint was filed to the queen when several nobles had reported to finding small body parts in the individual boxes containing the tobacco. The body parts were often fingers that seemed to belong to small children.

I smirked. _Arthur and his investigators dawdled on the case. After they were relieved, the queen of course then sent for me to pick up where the investigation had left off. _

I made my way to the large mahogany desk.

"_You will only refer to me as "master". _

_As I said that, I could tell she was getting more and more upset. I was about to walk away when she stopped me. _

"_You act like I'm not a person too! Regardless of my status it's common courtesy to introduce yourself when you're meeting someone new! And another thing, I will never ever in this lifetime refer to you as master!" She was breathing heavily after she had finished her little speech._

No one had ever spoken to me like that, not even Sebastian. Perhaps it won't be such a bad thing to have this investigation drag on a bit longer than it needs to. She seems interesting enough. A new toy...

_"It's very nice to meet you three as well. My name is Elisailana Winterfield, but Jane use to call me Elise for short!"_

Why did the last name Winterfield sound so familiar? I know I've heard of it somewhere. Maybe Elisailana was the daughter of one of the workers there who hadn't been able to escape from the burning building. But then who was Jane? When Meyrin had asked who she was, it had obviously hit a sore spot. Could it be that she had something to do with the fire?

This brought me back to what Sebastian had said on the carriage. _"__Because I don't think our little robin was telling the truth"_

_What could she be hiding? Looks like I'll have to get Sebastian to dig up some history on this girl. _

_Still… _

It looks like I have a new toy for the time being.

Soft knocking from the other side of the door snapped me out of my thoughts.

"I'm here with your afternoon tea" I smiled, knowing far too well who the voice belonged to.

"Come in"

* * *

><p><em>AN: Dun dun dun, who do you guys think the person at the end was? Another quick update ^^' I should've waited for more feedback/ criticism but I was much too excited to! :D I hope you guys enjoy this chapter~ hehe I might throw in Alois in a few chapters... perhaps we'll have some onesided Aloisxoc action (I love that crazy blonde)? If you guys have any suggestions or feedback, let me know in the reviews. Contructive criticism always welcomed. and remember, I like reviews :D (they really do make me happy to read!)._

_Thank you for all your kind feedback everyone :) It means a lot to me. _

_Thank you animenano137003, beebistar, DarkdemonRaYven, MewMewRuby, tokiluv, viscount-druitt-lover for the favorite!_

_Thank you DarkdemonRaYven, jade23741, moonlight phonex101, promocat, and Syao Blossoms for the alert!_

_jade23741, thank you :D the next update will probably be sunday^^_

_promocat , thank you ^^ I hope you like this chapter too~!_

_tokiluv , thankies! I hope you like this one too_

_DarkdemonRaYven , updated! :D thank you, I hope you enjoy this chapter as well! _


	4. The pawn

**Disclaimer: I don't not own Black Butler, only my OC and any plot foreign to the manga and anime.**

I stared at the uniform they forced me to wear. It was nothing but an ugly beige shirt and matching knee length pants. I choked back a loud sob, scared that the man who had taken me from the orphanage would hear me. I felt a hand on my shoulder. I flinched not knowing who it was since I had my back to them. "Hey are you okay..?". When I turned around, a girl my around my age was holding a handkerchief to me. "I'm Jane, are you new here?". I nodded my head as I took the handkerchief she offered me.

* * *

><p>It had taken a while for Sebastian to find Elise a maid uniform her size. Meyrin had a few changes of her own that she offered to lend the young girl, but they were all too large for her. Elise had insisted on wearing what she was wearing when she arrived, but Sebastian said it wouldn't be proper for a Phantomhive maid to do so.<p>

As I stepped out of the washroom, I began to feel strangely embarrassed. I wasn't used to wearing such girly things with frills, even before being being sent to the orphanage.

"Can't I wear something more like what you're wearing Sebastian?" I whined.

He raised an eyebrow. "You want to wear a men's butler suit?"

"No, just something... less revealing" Annoyed at his amused tone, I attempted to pull down the hem of the frilled apron so it'd at least go up to my knees. To my dismay, the cotton fabric wouldn't stretch that far.

"I'm sorry, but it'll have to do until we can send your measurements off to the tailor."

"Alright… should I go help Meyrin polish the banisters?" _As long as I don't have to see Ciel, I don't mind if I scrub my fingers off! _

"That won't be necessary. But you could take the tea I had just brewed to the masters study" _Damn__…__ hey wait, when did he find the time do that? _

"B-but I don't even know where his study is!"

"It's past the corridor to the left and you shouldn't let lying become a habit, it's _very_ unbefitting for a lady" My eyes widened at what he just said. _H-how did he know..?_

_"My name… it's Ciel" Ciel glared at me, annoyed he had to repeat what he said._

_He nodded to his butler as he made his way to the corridor on the left. I assume that's where his study was. _

"How did you know I wasn't telling the truth?"

"Oh I know many things" With that he placed a silver tray with a matching cup and tea pot in my hands.

_What could he possibly mean? _

"The master doesn't like his tea cold, you should get a move on" he said in a velvety voice. He turned around and started walking down the hallways. There was work to be done after all and when Meyrin had been cleaning the girl up earlier, he could make out the sounds of an explosion downstairs. The work of Bard no doubt.

After the young maid disappeared down the corridor, the butler smiled almost mischievously and silently uttered something that not even the ears of an elephant would be able to pick up.

"_More things than you'd ever want me to"_

* * *

><p>The young maid had probably been standing on the other side of her "masters" door for quite some time. Just knowing Ciel was on the other side of the door unnerved her slightly.<p>

_It not like I was afraid of him..._

_It's just every encounter I've had with him has been slightly unpleasant… that's all…_

_Okay, this is getting ridiculous..._

The girl softly knocked on the wooden door.

"I'm here with your tea"

Not knowing what to expect, the girl seemingly braced herself.

"Come in" came his cold voice almost instantly

When Elise entered the room, Ciel had initially continued to read the papers he had sprawled out in front of him. _Is all this paperwork?_

He paused briefly to stare at the girl in front of him. The girl he had met earlier today and the girl who stood before him looked completely different. There was a slight flush to her cheeks making him wonder if Meyrin had cleaned her up earlier, which seemed to be the case since her shoulder length hair which had initially appeared to be dark brown because of the dirt that was matted on it was now a russet color. She had long, thick eyelashes that framed her light brown eyes nicely, seeming to almost brush her now revealed porcelain skin every time she blinked.

Elise took didn't seem to notice the young master's staring as she was too engrossed in her own thoughts.

…_it's mind boggling to think someone as young as him manages such a successful company. Managing a company like this requires skills that no one his age could possess… all those mind crunching numbers, marketing strategies…_

I set the floral embossed teapot in front of him along with the matching cups. His eyes followed my movements as I carefully poured the tea into one of the cups.

Light brown eyes met striking blue.

"Why do you wear an eye patch on your right eye?" I suddenly blurted.

"Tch…" He scowled, clearly irritated at my sudden question.

"Why do you-"

"I heard you the first time" he snapped.

"I was just curious! You don't have to be so rude" I set the tea down in front and turned to leave.

"I lost it when I was very young during the time I was kidnapped" _I see… so we've both had a tragic past. _I turned around to face him.

"Oh…I'm so sorry to-"

"Now you answer something for me"

My eyes narrowed slightly at his hard gaze. "You've got to be kidding. This isn't some _game_ you know" I was taken aback at how quickly he recovered from my pervious question. He brushed it off like it was nothing.

He clasped his hands together, propping his elbows onto the hard surface of his desk. He then proceeded to lean in so his chin could rest on it.

"I didn't need to answer your previous question and as your master, you are obligated to answer anything I ask" He smirked. _So that's it! He's toying with me!_

_Slap_

It had been a few seconds since either pre teens said anything. A red hand print had begun to form on the left side of Ciel's face. Elise couldn't see his face because it was turned slightly to the left from the force of her slap, but she was sure it'd be nothing less than furious.

"I'm not your toy and you're certainly NOT my master" _What did I just do? I s-slapped him! _

"You're my maid aren't you? That makes me the King, while you only a pawn in my game"

I was at a loss for words. My previous feeling of fear was quickly taken over by my anger. Not only by his words, but at how nonchalant they came out.

I stomped out of his study, surprised to see Sebastian standing near the doorway. His body language implied that he was about the knock on the door.

I rushed past him down the hallway not knowing where I was going.

_Anywhere is better than here, that's for sure! _I thought angrily.

"I've come with your snack my lord, to accompany the tea I sent up" The amused glint in his eyes made it obvious that he had witnessed at least the latter half of what happened between the young master and maid.

"Che…" he scoffed titling his head so his left hand could support it. His cheek still stung a bit from where Elise had slapped him.

"You know, I could use _other_ means to extract the necessary information from her"

"What would be the fun in that Sebastian? It'd be too easy to force the information that I need from her…"

"Ah she is very interesting isn't she my lord? I'll be taking my leave now. If anything isn't to your liking, don't hesitate to summon me" The demon bowed then turned to leave.

"Oh and Sebastian, please do hurry with the information I requested" The demon paused halfway through the door, knowing exactly what his master was referring to. He turned slightly to face his master.

"Yes, my lord"

After the demon left, Ciel found it hard to concentrate on his paperwork. He was too distracted at the thought of having a new plaything. He stared out the window engrossed in his thoughts, opting to leave the paperwork unfinished. There was plenty of time for that later.

_Besides, the game has only begun. _

* * *

><p><em>AN: It's almost midnight around here. I have to start heading for bed (or do the English paper I've put off XD damn you procrastination). I'm trying out a different type of writing style- do you guys think it's a tad awkward from all the changing POV's or is it fine? Let me know! And let me know what you think of the chapter! I had a very hard time writing the interaction between my OC and Ciel for some reason " I don't think this chapter is that great, but I'll work to improve my writing! _

_Please review and let me know if you have any suggestions! _

_Thank you for all the kind reviews and for all the favorites/alerts. They really mean a lot to me. _

_=cough cough= Click the review buttttoooonnn, you knnooowww you want to ;) _

_Did I mention that I like reviews? (they make me update faster too :D *waggles eyebrows* ) _

_Okies, nuff fooling around now DX must go do that paper… good night~! _


	5. The first night

**Disclaimer: I do not own Black Butler. I only own my OC and any plot foreign to the manga or anime.**

_A young girl, no more than age 9, ran around chasing a butterfly in the Winterfield garden. Her parents looked on with a smile on their faces. The Winterfield manor has one of the most brilliant gardens in all of England, very few rivalled against it. The parents looked at that girl with alarm when they heard a small cry from her. She had tripped, in the process scraping her knee. Her concerned parents rushed over to her side quickly to make sure there wasn't any permanent damage. The little girl wasn't crying though, she smiled at her parents happily, telling them she had almost caught the butterfly. _

* * *

><p>A girl with russet colored hair sat down tiredly in the Phantomhive manor's garden. The height of the girl was below average even when she was standing, but since she was sitting, her form could barely be seen from the beautiful flowers around her.<p>

"Why does Ciel have to be so mean!" Elise closed her eyes in exasperation.

"He doesn't mean any harm, my lady" After bringing the sweets to his master, Sebastian has excused himself and went to look for Elise. Of course, since he was a demon, the task proved to be easy.

Elise stared at him, startled at his sudden appearance.

"Why does he hate me so much, Sebastian?" Sebastian didn't answer immediately, pondering if he should tell her that it wasn't that Ciel hated her, it was just merely how he was.

"He doesn't hate you, the young master had a very… troubled past, so he's grown cold. He really is truly kind on the inside"

The girl stayed silent, but inwardly snorted when Sebastian said the young master was kind. _Right… kind_

The butler turned to leave, knowing it would take more than just his word to persuade the girl to come back into the manor.

"Try to get along with the young master, it would make you stay here more pleasant". And with that, the butler turned to leave.

Elise had been sitting in the garden area, admiring the scenery and making flower crowns for the last couple of hours, when she started to notice the sun coming down. Finny and Meyrin would occasionally come out to keep Elise company when they were taking a break in between their chores.

Ciel had grown curious about the young girl's whereabouts, when he noticed that he hadn't had anymore visits from her throughout the day when he needed something. The rest were from Sebastian. When he asked Sebastian where the girl was, he has told him she was in the garden area.

"Is that girl still out in the garden Sebastian?" Ciel looked up from his paperwork.

"I believe so, my lord. I just saw Finnian come back into the manor"

"Tsk…"

"My lord, pardon my manners, but shouldn't you try to be more sympathetic towards the girl?"

"Why should I?"

"Try to understand her situation my lord, she's all alone, possibly everyone she knew could be dead" Ciel looked out the window at the darkening sky, deep in thought.

"Hn… fine"

"It's getting cold" the girl dully noted to herself. She attempted to pull down her maid dress , but to her dismay, it didn't stretch. She cursed inwardly at her stupidity because she had tried that earlier on during the day.

"Ahem…" Elise turned around to see Ciel's form behind her.

"I'm sorry…" The boy averted his eyes as he apologized reluctantly.

"I'm sorry for slapping you… it was unnecessary" The girl bite her lip.

"and I shouldn't have pushed you so hard before" he finished, his eyes still averted from the girls piercing brown.

"But don't expect _this_ to become a habbit" he snapped, finally meeting her eyes._ I'm still your master_ he decided to hold his tongue at the last part, not wanting to ruin the momentary peace.

Even though the boy had apologized to her while his eyes were averted the whole time, Elise knew that he was being sincere. Somehow the glow from the setting sun illuminated the boys averted eyes and skin. His hair also seemed to gleam.

Elise looked away when he caught her staring at him. Both preteens stood there awkwardly not knowing what to say to each other next.

"Are you coming in or what?" Ciel said as he turned to go back into the manor.

The girl followed him closely behind as they made their way back into the manor.

Luckily for Elise, Ciel had opted to dine in his study. After dinner, Elise was told by Sebastian to retire for the night, since there was nothing else to be done in the manor until the morning.

Elise had spent a considerable amount of time wandering before she found the room Sebastian had told her she would be residing in.

The room itself was simple, but at the same time showed superior designs. It reminded her Elise of the guest rooms in the Winterfield home.

"It's still so early…" The girl looked at the clock near her door. The larger "hand" rested on the twelve while the smaller one rested on the eight.

"I guess I'll wash up, then go to bed". The girl hoisted herself off the bed, taking the night clothes Meyrin left for her to change into.

It had nearly been an hour after when she was done her bath. By that time, she had felt so relaxed, that it didn't even matter what time it was. She tucked herself into the bed and closed her eyes tiredly.

"_Stop it!" The girl tried to squirm out of the dark figure's grasp, but it was too strong. _

"_Mom…dad…someone… please help me!" Elise closed her eye, knowing full well what would happen next. The dark figure proceeded to slam her into a wall._

_Suddenly the scene changed. Elise was back in the Winterfield manor. She was even in her own bed. "Was everything just a dream?" She wondered to herself out loud. She was even wearing her own silk nightgown. _

_The girl got off her bed and slowly walked towards the door. When she had opened it, the coast was clear. _

_She made her way down to the living area. The fire place was crackling noisily. Both her parents came into her vision moments later. James Winterfield was reading the morning paper while his wife, Susan Winterfield sat in the opposing armchair appearing to be crocheting a scarf of sorts._

"_Mother? Father?" The girl made her way down to the final steps before walking over to her parents and hugging them both._

"_I had the worst dream!" Both the girl's parents looked at each other in surprise._

"_It was just a dream Elise. You can tell us all about it after breakfast" said Susan, while brushing the young girl's hair with her hands in effort to calm her down._

_The girl said nothing as the girl continued to hug both of them._

"_Look at this scarf I'm making for you Elise. It'll keep you warm this winter. I even picked out your favorite color". Susan wrapped the scarf around Elise, admiring her work._

"_It looks beautiful mother. Thank you so much" _

"_Your mother spent a long time making that" James commented. _

_Suddenly , Susan seemed to be wrapping the scarf around Elise's neck too tightly._

"_I-it's too tight!" The girl winced. _

_When she turned to look at her parents, their faces seemed to slowly decay into rotting flesh. _

_Elise screamed._

Ciel had retired hours ago, but couldn't seem to sleep. He tossed and turned in his bed.

_Maybe a glass of water would help_ The boy decided against calling for Sebastian since it was such a small task. He proceeded to untangle himself from his covers and made his way out of room.

The boy stopped walking when he heard whimpering coming from the inside of Elise's door. The guestroom that the girl was residing in was a few doors down from Ciel's room.

_Che… it's probably just a bad dream. _

"S-stop it…" It was whispered, but Ciel heard the plea which was followed by more whimpers. He paused at her doorway contemplating what to do.

_I guess it can't hurt to go in and see if she is alright. Not like I care or anything though, it's just to make sure she doesn't wake up the whole manor. _

The boy quietly crept into her room. As he got closer, it was apparent the girl was having a bad dream. Tiny beads of perspiration were forming near her forehead as she continued to whimper. She squirmed against the covers, which seemed to only make them more and more tangled around her small frame.

"Wake up" he whispered. When that proved to fail, he was at a loss at what to do.

He carefully put a hand over her forehead in hopes of calming her down. She stopped squirming instantly, but her breathing still came out ragged.

He breathed a sigh of relief, also grateful that she didn't wake up, thus avoiding another awkward situation. The girl leaned into his hand, making Ciel blush slightly. He jerked his hand away before realizing what he was doing.

He took one last glance at the girl before turning to leave.

"_Thank you"_

* * *

><p><em>AN: Hey guys :) how is everyone doing? it's been a while hasn't it? Well I am back with an update! ^_^ I hope you guys like it. I've been recently going back and editing and changing my story's format, please look for that :D I'm getting really excited because I think this might be the first story I'll ever finish on fanfiction. FIGHT ON! :D_

_as always, please review and let me know what you think. I'm very open to suggestions and critic. I really want to improve my writing, escpecially since the Grade Write is coming up (all the seniors in my school participate in a writing challenge that's worth 10% of your mark =insert sadface=)._

_I want to make it a personal goal to get 30 reviews by chapter six ^_^ Do you think I can do it?~_

_promocat, thank you for the review :D and I might or might not add Alois. I am currently working on a new story just for him ~_^ I'd like to add him into this one too, because he always creates interesting plot, but I don't know how- so I'll try to find a way :D_

_cocopops3000, yes cielxoc for the win ^_~ thank you for reviewing!_

_tokiluv, will do :D thank you for always reviewing ^_^!_

_dardemonrayven, thank you and thank you for the review :D it really means a lot_

_The Awesome is here, thank you for the review :D_

_Jade23741, thank you! I hope you enjoy this chapter ^_^_

_Thank you animenano137003, beebistar, DarkdemonRaYven, MewMewRuby, tokiluv, viscount-druitt-lover, cocopops3000, Maichiru Sakura, NightWindAlchemist, SakuraFlame10, wenyigo, XDark FangsX for the favorite_

_Thank you DarkdemonRaYven, jade23741, moonlight phonex101, promocat, Syao Blossoms, Ambercat999, DreamingInThePast, GeeksterMcGeek, jannekevandelaar, NightWindAlchemist, spirit thief, tokiluv for the alert!_


	6. The revelation

The next couple of days went by swiftly. Elizabeth had come over a few days ago and had caused all sorts of chaos for the residents in the manor. She even insisted on making Elise look "cute". Though the girl was overly energetic, she found it comforting to talk to someone else her age that wasn't someone from the manor.

Elise hated to admit it, but Sebastian was right, her stay at the Phantomhive manor had become more enjoyable after her truce with Ciel. Though in actuality, the only reason they have been getting along so well was because the boy had purposely avoided her for the past couple of days. Elise shrugged it off, as they didn't eat supper together and Sebastian no longer gave her tasks that involved the young master.

"I wonder what Finny is doing…" the young maid wondered aloud. Elise had spent some of her free time the other day out in the gardens helping Finny out with minor chores when Meyrin didn't need her help. She was delighted to find a friend in the boy, since Meyrin was the only other person that she talked to regularly at the manor. Everyone else always seemed to be too busy.

"I know what I'll do! I'll visit him after I finish" Elise wiped the sweat off her brow and continued to polish the banister.

Ciel sat in his study re-reading the documents of the unsolved case. He sighed in frustration. It had been days since the girl had arrived at the manor and he hasn't gotten any closer to solving the case. He rubbed his eyes tiredly. For the past few nights, whenever Elise had a nightmare, he'd go to her room and try to calm her down. _What a horrid girl…_

He looked at the time and decided he wanted his noon tea early. When he called for Sebastian, there was no answer.

_He's probably out running errands. _Ciel had forgotten he had given him orders to find out everything he could about the girl taking residence at the manor, and since Sebastian left before Ciel had woken up, he hadn't reminded the young master.

Ciel placed the documents in the folder and got off his armchair, making his way to the kitchen. Elise came into view as he came down the stairway. He almost went the other way, but against his better judgement, he didn't.

When she noticed him coming down from the stairway, she greeted him. "Good morning. Did you sleep well last night?" It was hard to believe that the girl smiling in front of him was the same struggling girl last night.

"Che… " _No_ _thanks to you, _was what he thought bitterly inside his head. To his surprise, the girl smiled teasingly at his response.

"You know… _someone_ like you really does need all the sleep they can get"

"and whatever do you mean by that?" he frowned

"All I'm saying is, you'll never grow if you don't sleep" she teased

"W-why you…" _That girl…. _

"We're the same height!"

"No, we aren't!" the girl deadpanned mockingly.

Elise could practically see the anger marks forming above his head. She couldn't help but giggle at the mental image, which only infuriated him more.

"I'm going back up to my study, and please bring my afternoon tea up momentarily" he said finally. To the girl's surprise his voice was calm. There was no anger evident.

_How did he compose himself so quickly? _She wondered.

Elise washed her hands in the sink basin and clumsily made the young master's tea.

_Maybe I should surprise him with a snack to make up for all that teasing earlier. Besides, I always see Sebastian bring up with a snack with his noon tea._ Clinks and clangs could be heard from the kitchen.

After she was done, the kitchen was considerably messier than when she first came in. Baldroy was busy elsewhere so there was no one to supervise her. There was a reason Sebastian never allowed her to work in the kitchen, but this wasn't made aware to the young master.

Elise set everything on a silver tray, including a slice of cake she sprinkled powdered sugar on. Sebastian had made earlier and set on the counter.

She carried the tray up to the young master's study, careful not to spill anything.

Ciel was up in his study, rereading the reports when Elise came in. She hadn't bothered knocking since the door was open.

"You took an awful long time" he drawled, no anger was evident in his voice.

"I brought you a snack as well" She smiled. The girl set the tray down onto the mahogany desk.

Ciel didn't know what to say, one moment the girl was teasing him non-stop, and the next moment she was actually civil. All memories of her fear stricken form last night were erased, she actually looked kind of cu-

_Ciel snap out of it! _He ordered himself silently. His cheeks reddened considerably.

"Thank you" He said simply turning his face away from the girl.

Elise didn't notice his reddened cheeks, so she dismissed herself saying she'll be back for the plate and cup. Ciel watched as her retreating figure until it disappeared from his view. He shook his head _I'm going mad…_

It had been a while since the young master has finished his tea and cake. He looked at the time. It was well past noon and there was still no sign of Sebastian. He hadn't bothered to call Elise up to his study to retrieve the plates knowing full well she had probably forgotten.

He had long put away the documents regarding the factory case and instead decided to read the paper.

And then he saw it.

As he flipped the page, headlines clearly read: WINTERFIELD MANOR TO BE SOLD FOR MILLIONS

_Winterfield… Elise Winterfield! I knew I recognized her name. Her parents had been presumed to be murdered and then the girl went missing… it was everywhere a couple months ago, but how did she end up at the factory?_ _And why weren't there any searches conducted to find her?_ Ciel didn't have to guess, the text under the headlines revealed that it was her relatives who were selling the manor. It then became obvious to him that Elise wasn't kidnapped by the murderers of her parents, but instead was "sent" away by her relatives.

He tried to remember the day they met, realizing it was all an act. It all made sense now, why Sebastian had been so quick to agree to her stay. She knew all along. But why? Why had she kept it a secret? And more importantly, what was she hiding?

_Knock knock_

"Are you done with your tea?"

"Who are you?"

"What?" The girl was genuinely surprised at his question and his harsh tone. Her eyes wandered, finding the newspaper article. She gasped silently.

"I don't know what you're talking about" she said as calmly as she could. Her voice shook.

"Don't even try to lie. Why didn't you tell me you were from the Winterfield family? After your parents disappeared and were presumed to be dead, you were taken to the factory weren't you?"

By the time he had walked over to the girl, cornering her, making sure there was no room for escape.

She stayed silent, her eyes were glued to the floor as if it was the most interesting thing in the world.

"What happened next?"

Memories flooded into the girl's head. Everything. Her nightmares morphed into the memories. Everything was on fire. All she could see was decaying flesh and death. Her eyes wandered attempting to find a safe haven, but blood was splattered everywhere she looked.

Ciel took a step back when she was started sobbing. He hadn't thought he was that forceful, so why was she crying so uncontrollably?

She had slid down to the ground at this point with her head buried into her arms in a sitting position.

Ciel didn't know what to do. He wasn't use to comforting people, or at least when they were awake anyways. He cautiously put his hand over her hair attempting to calm her down, but when that proved to do nothing, he wrapped his arms around her, bringing her into an awkward embrace.

Just then, Sebastian came into room. What came into his view was probably the most amusing thing to him.

* * *

><p><em>AN: Crappy cliffy xD How is everyone? Sorry for my long absence D: grade 12 is killing me! Hehe but I am happy to say, we almost have 30 reviews! Do you guys think you could all do me a favor and drop me a couple more so we could have 35 by chapter 7? :D Originally it was 30 for chapter 6, but I've decided to upload a Valentine's Day special for Chapter 6 ^_^ special treat I hope 3 prepare for minor cutesy fluff~_

_Thank you for all the favorites and alerts and reviews as always they really do mean a lot to me._

_Let me know if you have any suggestions 3 _


	7. Valentine's Day Special

_A/N: This is a Valentine's Day special (gomen gomen! it's super late! ") when I wrote it, I expected to be weeks into the story, so you can treat this as a filler for now if you wish because it won't be part of the general plotline, or at least up until Chapter 10 (you can probably guess what type of relationship Ciel will have with Elise after reading this though ^^"). Originally the main characters were supposed to chase Elise around as she hit on every male (Finny, Sebastian, etc) she saw while Ciel got jealous, but instead, the story kind of took a life of its own, which really helped me determine what type of feelings Ciel would have for her in the future. _

_Remember, please review and favorite :D I added extra fluff in here (or as much as I could at this point in time). My goal is to have 35 reviews by this chapter soooooo review both chappies if you have to *wink*~ your input really does matter to me :3 now enough of my long author's note and onto the story!_

* * *

><p>Weeks have passed by since Elise Winterfield had begun staying at the Phantomhive manor. Besides the occasional arguments with Ciel (she would never admit it, but she had started to enjoy his company, arguments and all), she began to slowly find herself fitting in.<p>

Valentines Day was approaching quickly, which made Elise wonder if she should do something special for everyone in the household. Though, now that she thought about it, everyone had seemed more busy and flustered than usual.

Elise finished her daily chores and decided to go accompany Meyrin while she was wiping down the cabinets. She decided against it after seeing how flustered Meyrin had become and figured it was best to leave her alone unless she wanted more broken plates.

"Maybe Finny would like some help" Elise made her way out to the garden. She beamed when she saw a blonde form crouched over a bird.

"Hi Finny!"

"Hello Elise!" he smiled

"Hey Finny… do you know why everyone has been so flustered lately?"

"Miss Elizabeth is coming over for Valentine's Day. She wanted to celebrate it with her fiancé" he said happily.

"Oh I see, that's why everyone is so jumpy" Elise inwardly shivered thinking back to Elizabeth's last visit. The girl had attempted to make Elise "cuter looking". She and Finny chatted animatedly for the next little while before going back inside the manor to see if there was anything else she could help with.

* * *

><p>The next day, Elise consulted Baldroy on what she should do for everyone on Valentine's Day. He suggested for her to make a cake, but the only problem was that she didn't know how to very well. He offered to give her a crash (literally) course on how to. Needless to say, Sebastian ushered the two of out of the kitchen as soon as he heard the various noises erupting from the kitchen.<p>

Elise wasn't too pleased knowing she has even less time to perfect the cake.

"Elise!" The poor girl's air passage suddenly felt as if it had been blocked off.

"Elizabeth… stop" was Ciel's response to everything around him

"It's Lizzy!" The girl let go of Elise who now realized that almost all the servants in the household were adorned with bows and ribbons similarly to last time.

"It's nice to see you again Lizzy, how have you been?" Elise smiled remembering how much she enjoyed the girl's company.

Ciel watched as the two girl's catched up with one another.

"I'm going to head off to my study" he said

"Alright! I'll come up later with your tea" answered Elizabeth happily. It was very out of character of her to want to do so, but Ciel just assumed it was because it was Valentine's Day. Rather than arguing with her, he opted to save time by just nodding and leaving it be. What harm could it do anyways?

Elise eyed the girl wearily knowing she probably had something up her sleeve. _Maybe she bought a love potion or something_ she thought amused, knowing full well nothing of the such existed. She shook off the thoughts and soon forgot about it all together.

Elizabeth accompanied Elise in some of her chores, but soon excused herself to the ladies room. Elise went on to do her other chores for the day, hurrying so she could finish the cake.

Elizabeth made a detour from the ladies room, tip toeing to the kitchen, putting a small bottle of liquid from her pocket onto the counter.

"Maybe this will make Ciel more affectionate! I'll put this into his tea when I bring it up to him" she giggled and skipped off to accompany Elise once more. Elise, of course was nowhere in sight by then, so she skipped off to the gardens.

As Elise come into the kitchen, she could see Elizabeth's retreating figure. She was about to call her, but decided against it since she still wanted to keep the cake a surprise, and with Baldroy knowing already- she didn't want to risk anyone else. _Why was she in the kitchen anyways?_

By the time she was finished with the batter, flour streaked her forehead and parts of her hair.

"All I'm missing is the vanilla extract!" The girl searched the cupboards, but there was no extract to be found. She sighed knowing the perfect cake won't be perfect if she didn't have any extract for it.

Her eyes caught something on the counter.

"What's this?" Elise wondered aloud to herself. The small bottle was unmarked, but when she opened it, a very sweet aroma radiated from the bottle.

Not knowing any better, Elise proceeded to mix the contents of the bottle into the batter thinking it was an extract of sorts.

"The batter turned out to be a bit runny… good thing this is just a tester" Elise put the batter into the cake mould and proceeded to put it into the oven at the highest temperature.

By the time she came back from from finishing her the last of her chores for the day and getting the flour off her face, the cake was more than ready, if not even a little burnt at the edges.

Elise grabbed the nearest clean fork on the counter and proceeded to take a small bite out of the cake.

"hmmm good!" _Not bad for my first time… now I only need to work on the presentation factor!_

Elizabeth came into the kitchen.

"Is it noon already?" asked Elise.

"Almost! I'm just here to…" Elizabeth stopped in mid-sentence, eyes wide with shock. _Oh no! The vial… it's gone! Where could it have gone? _

Elise eyed the girl with worry.

"Is something wrong?"

"N-no! nothing! I just came here to tell you to bring the tea and stuff to Ciel's study instead" The girl uttered a quick thanks, not waiting for Elise's reply, while she rushed out of the kitchen. _I have to find it before something goes horribly wrong!_

"Oh no! It's almost noon!" Elise quickly brought the tea and biscuits left that were put on the counter to Ciel's study.

Elise knocked on the door gently. When she heard the "come in" from Ciel, she proceeded to go in placing the biscuits and tea on his desk.

"You're late" he said calmly, there was no anger evident in his voice, but his tone still irked Elise to no end. Elizabeth was suppose to being it up anyways!

"Well I-" she started to protest, but when their eyes met, something happened.

"Ciel…"

"What?" he snapped, weary from her odd behaviour

"I LOVE YOU!"

"W-what?" He didn't have time to react. The girl had proceeded to tackle him from behind his desk.

"H-have you gone mad Winterfield?" Ciel had a hard time forming congruent sentences because of the girl's close proximity. His cheeks turned a blazing shade of red.

"Get off of me Winterfield!" He pushed the girl off his lap awkwardly, with his face turned away from her so she couldn't see the blazing red.

He stood up and tried to exit the room, trying to figure out where all this madness came from. Hell, just yesterday she was about to wring his neck for calling her a servant!

"Stay here" he said, or more like commanded

"Wait… Ciel… don't go… don't you like me?" Elise had stood up, her hand clutching her heart as she looked down sadly

Ciel sighed, most of the color on his face returning to normal. It's true, he didn't know why he comforted the girl when she had nightmares or why she was able to break his composure so easily, nor did he know why he seemed to feel so free around her… free from the burden of revenge, but he did know one thing…

"That's not something I want to talk to you about while you're in this state" he said calmly, trying to meet her eyes.

"but there isn't anything wrong with me right now" she said uneasily, scuffing her feet.

"You're not acting like yourself" he pointed out bluntly

"I guess you're right" Elise chuckled.

Elise blinked.

"Hey… I feel normal again" She blinked a couple more times in disbelief.

"I could hardly call you normal to being with" Elise laughed, just glad to know she hadn't gone mad.

"Ciel, Elise, what was all that noise?" Elizabeth and Sebastian appeared by the doorway.

"Nothing, but do you two have any idea what caused Elise to act so odd?"

"What do you mean? She was perfectly normal when I asked her to bring the tea up to your study" replied Elizabeth

"How was she acting my lord?" asked Sebastian out of curiosity

"She tackled me" muttered Ciel. Both Elise and Ciel looked away from each other with color creeping onto their faces.

Instead of Elizabath throwing a tantrum like expected, she instead gasped in realization. Unfortunately, Ciel noticed.

"Do you know anything about this Elizabeth?"

"Well… I may have sort of left a love potion in the kitchen, but I didn't know Elise would use it" she said guiltily.

"I'm really sorry" She continued.

"It's alright, no harm, no foul is what I always say!" Elise smiled

"Where did you even get something like that?" asked Ciel out of curiousity

"Paula and I were at a foreign market last week and they had a special for these. I decided to pick one up… the lady who sold me It told me they work wonders. Apparently they make anyone who ingested even a little bit of it to fall in love with the first member of the opposite sex they see. She also mentioned that the only way to snap out the person out of the trance is to realize he or she were in one in the first place" Elizabeth recalled

"…"

"… Elizabeth… were you going to use it on me by any chance?"

"Oh look at the time! Paula should be here any minute to pick me up!" Elizabeth flushed and left quickly.

"And it's Lizzy!" She said added before disappearing down the stairs

"Oh no! I used the mixture in the cake I made for you guys! I bet the cake is spoiled by now or worse… someone else has taken a bite from it!" Elise followed suite, also hurrying out of Ciel's study hoping no one else had taken a bite from the cake.

All Ciel did was sigh and collapse into his armchair. He closed his eyes and pinched his nose bridge.

Sebastian just stood to the side of the doorway amused while he watched the whole exchange.

_Humans just get more interesting each time..._

* * *

><p>cocopops3000, thanks for the review, your's always make me smile!<p>

DarkdemonRaYven, thankies and thanks for the review ^^ I hope you like the fluff in this special!

MuffinMuffin, thanks for reviewing 3

promocat, will do I am working on a Alois story and thanks!

spirit thief, thank you! 3

justiceintheworldofhp-yearight , I hope you liked this chappie 3 thanks :D

Xitlalit123, kinda XD I think that's as caring as I can make him at this point, and thanks 3

tokiluv, hope you like this chappie :D

Excel Fusion, thank you ^^ no one has ever said that to me before :D I'm actually still looking for a beta, I feel like some sentences are awkward still D: I hope you like this chappie~

DelilahLied9907898, omg xD I love you already~! Thanks for the review :D

And as always, a big thank to all of you who put this story on alert and on your favorites ^_^ it makes me very happy.

I promise updates will come faster, until next time!

Ja~!


	8. The mark

"Ew…" Elise had spent a considerable amount of time in the washroom drying her eyes. She looked in the mirror with distain. She was never very critical or caring of her appearance, but she visibly cringed when she saw her reflection in the mirror. Her eyes were bloodshot and swollen, while her porcelain skin turned blotchy from crying.

After Sebastian had appeared by the doorway, she had stood up and bolted out of Ciel's study and into the bathroom. She was thankful she knew her way around the manor by now.

_Jane...mother... father... how I wish you were all still alive! At least I wouldn't be stuck in this horrid place _She shut her eyes tightly together. The newly formed tears that managed to escape pooled down at her chin, falling onto the ceramic tiles with a _plop _sound.

"I've got to compose myself… I don't want everyone to think I'm a sobbing mess" Her words left a bitter taste in her mouth. She sniffled, wiping her eyes roughly.

Ciel didn't know what to do. Should he go after her? And do what exactly? He wasn't exactly the comforting type and ordering Sebastian to do it probably wouldn't do any good either.

The demon butler stood firmly at the doorway, an amused glint evident in his eyes.

"Where were you this morning?" Ciel asked, rather annoyed at his butler

"Please excuse my absence this morning my lord, but I found the timing inappropriate as took the liberty to complete the preparations for today yesterday. I had to travel to the other side of town this morning to gather the information you inquired about the new maid- or should I say _Lady Elise_, as you ordered" he replied smoothly

"Before I left, I mentioned it to Bard and Meyrin, though it doesn't surprise me if they forgot to tell you " he added

Ciel ignored part of his butler's answer, "What exactly did you find out about _Lady Elise_?"

"Nothing that you haven't by the looks of it" The butler raised one of his eyebrows in question, but continued anyways.

"She's the daughter of the late James Winterfield and the Susan Winterfield- both were recently declared deceases. A few weeks later the only heir of the Winterfield fanchise went missing. When the searches went cold, it was presumed the was also killed by the same culprits as her parents"

"Yes I remember now. Whenever my parents held business parties at the manor, her parents had always made an appearance. The Winterfield Company produced England's finest chocolates and candies for children and was a fierce competitor with the Phantomhive sweets. It never registered to me that she could be Elise, she never made an appearance at any of the parties" Ciel said.

"It's also strange that she ended up at the factory, they live on the other side of town. If you find it appropriate, we should make a trip there together and see what we can find out from the remainging maids and servants" he continued.

"Yes, please make the necessary arrangements to do so" Ciel headed towards the exit of his study, leaving Sebastian to take care of the trip arrangements.

_I should've known she had some connection to the Winterfields. Headlines have been everywhere since their manor was up for auction. Now the only question that remains is how she ended up at the factory and what connection she has to the case I'm trying to solve. Why didn't she try to get help?_

Ciel was certain she had the answers, but there was only one way for him to find out. He made a turn around the corner to the now silent bathroom.

He lightly knocked on the wooden door.

"Elise?"

When no one answered, he tried to turn the knob. His eyes widened, to his surprise, the door was unlocked. The small window of near the basin was wide open. The champagne curtains fluttered wildly from the wind.

No one was inside.

* * *

><p><em>AN: A rather short update! I'm so sorry D: I wanted to do a longer one, but school has been all CO-POW on me. I'm a little stressed out because everyone is receiving acceptance letters to schools, while I'm left going all =shifty eyes= nervously ^/_\^ Good news is, I think I've worked everything out for a sequel! To be clear, this story is a mix of the anime and manga (some major events may have already occurred before Elise's arrival, nearing AU) - right now I'd say we're up to the point where Elizabeth has already been kidnapped and we're nearing the Angel Ark, then we might start moving towards Alois's arrival. We'll see! :3_

_ps- the title of the chapter seems odd doesn't it? :) I meant it as "the mark" of the start of the climax :D _

_tokiluv, 3 I think I'd be more embarrassed if I was Elise xD as always, thanks for reviewing!_

_DelilahLied9907898, hehe 3 thanks for reviewing! And I agree, Sebastian is sexy! XD_

_Excel_Fusion, I love you already! Thanks for all the nice reviews and what you said about my writing style (I actually had a bit of trouble writing originally, but thank you! 3) 3 I knew I recognized your user from somewhere! I read the "Cat and Spider" when I first got into Black Butler! I looovveedd Alice and how you depicted all the characters! Any chance for a sequel? :D ohh the Ciel confessing would've been soo cute! ^^_

_spirit thief, yush! 3 fluff is awesome, but there might not be any in the next couple of chapters D: thanks for reviewing!_

_Bree Renee, hehe thanks for the review!_

_DarkdemonRaYven, yush :D I shall try to update more, thanks for the review! 3_

_Daniella, will do! Thank you 3_

_Xitlalit123, yea he isn't =( especially in the manga~ le sigh, but that's okay 3 thanks for the review!_

_iluvHONEYBUNZ, I updated as soon as I saw your review :D thanks for the review~! 3_

_BIIIGGG THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO FAVORITED AND PUT THIS STORY ON ALERT! =) I'm glad you like it._

_As always, drop me a review if you have any suggestions or if you want to give me feedback 3 they make me smile ^_^_

_~until next time, ja~!_


	9. The chase

My legs ached every time they made contact with the pavement, but I just kept running. My heart was pounding and my ears were ringing from the cold spring air. I couldn't tell if it had started to rain or not because my vision was clouded with the moisture that seemed to dribble down my face.

I wanted to slow down, but if I did, I knew I wouldn't be able to continue. My thoughts muddled together as I continued pounding on the pavement.

* * *

><p>People starred as the strange girl ran past them, not knowing if she was playing a game of cat and mouse or not. Passerby's shrugged expecting someone to be running behind her, but there was no one.<p>

Ciel searched the manor expecting to find the girl crouched over somewhere. Meyrin, Bard, and Finny all searched the outside perimeters.

"Perhaps we should go into town and continue our searches there. She couldn't have gotten far" said Sebastian

Ciel nodded knowing they wouldn't find her in the manor.

_I wouldn't have forced her to tell me anything she didn't want to and she was never treated like a prisoner. _He clenched his fists while he looked out the window, keeping an eye out for a figure in a Phantomhive maid uniform.

Sebastian looked on, awed at his young master's odd behaviour.

He wasn't completely sure about what had happened between Lady Elise and his young master, but if he had to guess judging by the scene he walked into earlier, it'd be pretty accurate.

His master wasn't completely heartless, but he was ambitious in sense where he might have overstepped personal boundaries (A/N: not like that!) to get the information he desired from the girl.

The carriage went past the town square. There was no sign of the girl and there was also no way she could've made it out so far.

"Do you think she managed to travel to the other side of town… to her home?" This was the first time Ciel had spoken since getting into the carriage.

"I don't think so" Sebastian paused

"…but it is a possibility that she could have stolen a ride from someone, which would be better then being around here at this time. It's not safe to be around this part of town at this time" continued Sebastian

The skies had darkened significantly since they originally left the manor, a sign that the evening was quickly approaching.

"Then we're going on by foot, perhaps some of the town's folk have seen her"

"As you wish my lord"

Sebastian stopped the carriage. As they continued their search by foot, an old woman was packing up a nearby fruit stand at the end of the street.

"Excuse me madam, but have you seen a girl in a maid uniform?" Sebastian asked courteously

"Ah… let me see…"

" I do recall a young girl running past my stand- originally I had thought she was playing a game with someone, but I don't recall seeing anyone behind her" She continued

Ciel felt a familiar pang of panic at the mention of someone possibly going after her, but he let out a sharp outtake of air when he heard the women stating no one was behind her.

That's better than nothing right?

Wrong.

Evening had swiftly turned to early night- the search and travel to town has taken more time than he'd thought.

"Do you know which way she went?" The woman crinkled her forehead trying to remember specific details.

"I believe she went in that direction" The women gestured to her left, which lead to Town Sqaure.

Ciel frowned. She couldn't possibly still be at the town square, they had just circled around that area.

Seeing that the pair would get no more information from her, Sebastian said his thanks and they left

"Wait!-

The women stopped the pair before they left.

"If my memory serves me right, she was drenched from the light rain earlier- she might've gone into one of the alley ways or port for shelter"

"Thank you and have a good evening" This time they'll go between any allies the street had.

As they approached the end of their first alley way, a hunched over figure came into sight. Ciel instantly recognized the clothing.

It was Elise.

She had her body hunched, while her head rested on her shins. By the looks of it, she was either resting or unconscious. Her russet bangs covered her eyes.

Sebastian easily picked her up. Her chest heaved up and down in an uneven pattern, signalling something might be wrong.

They made their way back to their carriage where an uneasy journey back awaits.

* * *

><p><em>AN: It's been a while hasn't it? D: sorry for the lonnggg MIA. I had the largest writer's block ever and school was absolutely killing me._

_As always, review and let me know what you think!_

_Arigatou =)_


End file.
